unemployment rate

The April unemployment report on the surface looks really good because the unemployment rate is the lowest it has been since May 2007. Yet the cause of the low rate for the month is a mixed bag. Labor participation rates also remain low. On the other hand, an alternative measure of the unemployment rate, U-6, is the lowest it has been since November 2007.

The March unemployment report on the surface looked bad due too less than one hundred thousand jobs gained. But that is just one number and also not part of the report which calculates the unemployment rate and other statistics. The unemployment rate actually dropped -0.2 percentage points to 4.5%. That in itself is a decade low. The better news is the monthly drop was due to less people being unemployed and almost half a million more were working.

The December 2016 unemployment report looks almost static as changes in most of the statistics are small. The unemployment rate ticked up by 0.1% to 4.7%. Those employed increased by 63,000 a very small monthly number. Those unemployed monthly change was also relatively small. Even those dropping out of the labor force barely registered for the month.

The November 2016 unemployment report shows continuing distorted monthly unemployment figures. The unemployment rate ticked down by -0.3% to 4.6%, a nine year low, but this isn't the great news as many proclaim. The reason the unemployment rate dropped is yet another almost half a million, 446 thousand more, were considered no longer part of the labor force.

The October 2016 unemployment report shows yet more monthly distorted unemployment figures. The unemployment rate ticked down by -0.1% to 4.9% as almost half a million, 425 thousand more, were considered no longer part of the labor force. Those employed dropped by -43,000 and those unemployed declined by -152,000. Both the labor participation rate and the civilian to employment ratio ticked down a tenth of a percentage point.

The September 2016 unemployment report shows some fairly wild statistical swings that result in a distorted unemployment picture. The unemployment rate ticked up 0.1% to 5.0%. Over 350 thousand more were now considered employed. Both the labor participation rate and the civilian to employment ratio also ticked up a tenth of a percentage point.

The August 2016 unemployment report shows a fairly underwhelming month of statistics, yet not as bad as some in the press would have you believe. The unemployment rate remained the same at 4.9%, the third month in a row. Generally speaking August was no change from July. Both the labor participation rate and the civilian to employment ratio did not change. The number of people employed was low and similar to the number of those unemployed.

The July 2016 unemployment report shows a pretty good month of statistics. The unemployment rate remained the same at 4.9%. Yet this month, unlike others, the low unemployment rate is not due to more people dropping off of the statistical radar. Instead the labor participation rate ticked up a tenth of a percentage point as more people entered the labor force.

The May 2016 unemployment report on the surface sounds like great news. The unemployment rate dropped to an astoundingly low 4.7%. This is a -0.3 percentage point drop from last month and a level not seen since November 2007. Yet the statistics which make up the unemployment rate actually shows something terrible. The unemployment rate dropped because 664,000 people dropped out of the labor force with almost half a million no longer counted as unemployed.

The April 2016 unemployment report shows some disturbing developments behind the numbers. While the official unemployment rate did not change and stayed at 5.0%, over half a million dropped out of the labor force during the month and over three hundred thousand are no longer employed. The labor participation rate dropped by 0.2 percentage points as did the civilian participation rate.